What color are you using?

Was the primer sanded smooth prior to topcoats?

Wasn't the MDF pre-primed? If not, was it sanded between coats. Raw MDF will have raised fibers with any primer and it must be sanded after the primer dries.

The paint is a reflection of the prep done beforehand. A smooth, primed surface should be a smooth topcoat.

What oil paint are you using?

Michael

Thank you Michael for taking the time to try to help me. I think I might know what the painter has done....

The color is a custom color, white with just a drop of yellow and something else. It's white with a hint of yellow. It is the Benjamin Moore Super Spec semi gloss oil. The mdf that we used for the wainscoting was primed with two coats of oil based primer, sanded well and was very smooth. I've hired many painters over the years and thought his prep work was great. It was not preprimed before it was put up. Some of the paint is over wainscoting that I've had for years and was previously painted beautifully with Dunn Edwards oil base gloss paint years ago. Both the old and the new have the same feel now, not very smooth, not a solid color.. He is painting new and old baseboards, doors, etc. It looks almost transparent.

I picked up a gallon of the paint at my local BM store on Saturday and painted over one shelf in my new pantry (mdf). It looks like I think all of the woodwork should look. It has a nice shine, feels smooth, and is even more of the right color.

I think he has thinned or put levelers or something in the paint to the extent that it is so thin and not only doesn't cover, but thins out the color... I took the can he is using to the paint store so they could make the same thing, they said it even smelled different... They wondered what all he had added to it..

I guess I have to confront him on the paint mixture. Would you agree?
Thanks again..

I am so sorry you are having this problem. I had almost the same thing happen to me 4 years ago. We purchased a new to us home and wanted to repaint and freshen up. The color we chose was very similar to the color that was currently on the wall, a light taupe. Anyways, we hired a painter and then realized he was thinning the BM wall paint (latex) with water. He was also thinning the trim paint (oil based BM Satin Impervo) with varsol. We confronted him and he admitted to doing it, because he said it would make the job look better. He also claimed that instead of the two coats (as per the contract) he would put on as many coats as was necessary to make us happy. I believe that after two coats, he would have packed up and left, because the contract said "two coats, but it didn't say "how thick the coats were". The paint was thinned and put on so sparingly, you could actually see through to the original color. We checked with the Benj. Moore dealer and he told us that unless the paint was applied as per the specs on the can, it would not be washable. His suggestion, fire him.... We did just that. He was clearly cheating.

Anyways, a long winded storey, just to say I am very empathetic as to what you are going through. I wish you luck in dealing with the situation. Just don't allow yourself to be sweet talked into something you know in your heart isn't going to be acceptable.

Thanks ycmom. I thought that was the problem. If I was younger and had the energy, I might paint another coat myself. In fact, if I can't get him to do it right, I might do it... As hard as it seems right now. He is "finished" with most of the woodwork, so if I ask him to do another coat, I'm sure he will want to charge me more.

I plan on confronting him, also writing on my can of paint that nothing is to be added to it. At this point, I don't want to hire another painter, he was expensive enough.

I can't believe that it has even changed the color..